Stress, Depression, and Turnover Intentions Among School Counselors: The Mediating Role of Burnout

School counselors often experience high levels of stress, partly because they are often expected to perform noncounseling duties due to obscure perceptions of the counselor's role. Role stress is often related to negative outcomes for the well-being of healthcare and mental health professionals, such as elevated levels of depression and turnover intentions. The main purpose of this study was to examine whether burnout mediates the relationship between role stress and negative outcomes (depression and turnover intentions) among a sample of Israeli school counselors (N = 251, 98% female; M_age = 44.40). Results indicated that burnout mediated the relationship between role stress stemming from non-counseling duties (school counselors' duties that are not part of their job description and training) and depression and turnover intentions. Role stress stemming from counseling duties was not significantly related to depression and turnover intentions. Findings suggest that reducing potential burnout by reducing noncounseling stress, could improve school counselors' mental health and increase stability in the school system.